Zoning, religion at heart of spat over industrial park

The Hamilton County Board of County Commissioners heard
both sides Wednesday in an appeal that pits the Jehovah’s Witnesses
against Harrison Township.

The dispute stems from a plot of land that, through some
legal wrangling and a Joint Economic Development Agreement, Harrison
Township officials say can only be used for industrial purposes that
create jobs.

The Southwest Ohio Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses
wants to build a massive assembly hall that they say would be a draw to
the 28,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the region and create jobs in
surrounding service sector businesses.

The Hamilton County Rural Zoning Commission denied
permission to the Jehovah’s Witnesses, citing fear over the impact to
local businesses and traffic, causing the religious group to appeal the
decision to the Board of County Commissioners.

Board President Greg Hartmann said commissioners would set a date in the coming weeks to arrive at a decision.

Coalition Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes lawyer Chris Finney represented the Witnesses before the board.

Finney argued that the Zoning Commission was wrong to deny
permission to build the assembly hall. He pointed to the positive
economic impact such halls have had in other states and brought
witnesses to testify about the potential impact it could have on
Cincinnati.

According to a slide show presented before the board, the
hall could result in $1.19 million in annual tax revenue and create 421
jobs in the service industry surrounding the site.

Being a religious institution, the hall would be tax-exempt and would be staffed by volunteers.

Harrison Township officials argued that the area was
created under a special agreement that requires industrial use and that
any businesses located there create jobs and enhance economic
development.

Mayor Joel McGuire said the township had offered up other
locations for the assembly hall, but the Witnesses were fixated on the
one.

“That’s why we’re in the all-or-nothing situation we’re in
because they insist on this particular spot as opposed to the many
other locations where there’d be no problems at all,” McGuire said.

Keller's IGA, located at 319 Ludlow Ave. in Clifton, shut down Thursday citing tax issues. While the doors are still locked, it has been announced that the store's liquor license is no longer suspended.

Cliftonites have been shopping at IGA's Ludlow location since 1939. Nestled near Arlin's Bar and Esquire Theater, Keller's was one of the only grocery stores in walking distance from The University of Cincinnati and has been a staple for many students and locals, especially those on foot.

While there is a CVS Pharmacy and United Dairy Farmer's nearby, the closest full-service grocery stores are the Kroger stores on West Corry Street (1.5 miles away) and off Spring Grove Avenue (1.7 miles away). The absence of Keller's not only leaves locals with fewer shopping options, but leaves a gap in array of locally-owned businesses in the Gaslight District.

While many former Keller's shoppers will turn to new stores where they can purchase deli items and fresh produce, they will most likely have to forgo supporting a neighborhood store and resort to a larger chain. A sign on Keller's door urges patrons to do what they can to save this local business.

Even as the local Republican Party searches for a competent person willing to take on Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune in next year's election, the GOP chairman insists the party won't be cutting another deal to let Portune run unopposed.

With the Dec. 7 filing deadline now past, the Hamilton County Republican Party has listed one of its staffers, Finance Director Maggie Nafziger Wuellner, as a placeholder to reserve a spot on the ballot against Portune, a longtime Democratic incumbent.

The Cincinnati Police Department is seeking $400,000 to make improvements to its target range in Evendale after a ricocheting bullet flew over a concrete wall and broke the windshield on a citizen’s car.

But when city officials considered moving the target range in 1999, the police union opposed the move and called any safety concerns overblown.

A proposal made today by a Hamilton County commissioner involving sewer work related to the city of Cincinnati's planned streetcar system won't harm or delay the project, city staffers said.

That's because the motion introduced by County Commissioner Chris Monzel, a streetcar foe, would only affect additional improvements sought by the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), said Chris Eilerman, the city's streetcar project manager. The city already has allocated $3 million of its own money to relocate manholes needed for the streetcar project and do some of MSD's other improvements.

Less than three months after winning his latest term on the Hamilton County Commission, Todd Portune is considering seeking the Ohio Democratic Party’s nomination to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Republican George Voinovich.

County shut down $3.2 billion MSD project in response to city rules

Councilman Chris Seelbach on Oct. 3 announced another
concession in the ongoing city-county dispute over contracting rules for the jointly operated Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD).

At the heart of the issue is a federal mandate requiring
Cincinnati to retrofit and revamp its sewer system. The project
is estimated to cost $3.2 billion over 15 years, making it the largest
infrastructure undertaking in the city’s history.

But Hamilton County commissioners have put most of the
project on hold until the county resolves its conflict with City
Council, which unanimously passed in June 2012 and modified in May
“responsible bidder” rules that dictate how MSD contractors should train
their employees.

Critics say the law’s apprenticeship program and
pre-apprenticeship fund requirements put too much of a burden on nonunion businesses. Supporters claim the requirements
help create local jobs and train local workers.

The city law requires bidders to follow specific
standards for apprenticeship programs, which are used by unionized and
nonunion businesses to teach an employee in a certain craft, such as
plumbing or construction. It also asks contractors to put 10 cents for
each hour of labor into a pre-apprenticeship fund that will help teach
applicants in different crafts.

The concession announced on Oct. 3 would replace a mandate with an incentive program.

The mandate tasked contract bidders to prove their
apprenticeship programs have graduated at least one person a year for
the five previous years.

The incentive program would strip the mandate and
replace it with “bid credits,” which would essentially give a small
advantage to bidders who prove their apprenticeship programs are
graduating employees. That advantage would be weighed along with many other
factors that go into the city’s evaluation of bidders.

Seelbach says the concession will be the sixth the city has given to the county, compared to the county’s single concession.

The city has already added several exemptions to its
rules, including one for small businesses and another for all contracts
under $400,000, which make up half of MSD contracts. The city also
previously loosened safety training requirements and other apprenticeship rules.

Meanwhile, the county has merely agreed to require
state-certified apprenticeship programs, although with no specific
standards like the city’s.

The five-year graduation requirement was the biggest
sticking point in the city-county dispute. It’s now up to commissioners
to decide whether the concession is enough to let MSD work go forward.
If not, the dispute could end up in court as the federal government
demands its mandate be met.

Job will take him out of state often

A Democrat who was challenging Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Hartmann in this fall’s election has left the race due to work commitments.

Greg Harris, a West Sider who is a former Cincinnati city councilman, said Monday night that a contract awarded to his educational consulting firm means he will be spending a large amount of time outside of the region. Harris’ firm, New Governance Group, recently was awarded a major contract with a nonprofit group in Delaware that seeks to improve public education in that state.

“When I filed (to run for commissioner), I filed in all sincerity,” Harris said. “It was before I got this contract.”

He added, “I feel bad. This was a race I really wanted to run in, but with all the traveling, I’m not equipped to give it the time it deserves.”

Harris, 40, announced his candidacy in early December, when he filed paperwork to run against Hartmann, a Republican incumbent who is seeking his second term.

The Hamilton County Democratic Party now will be able to select a replacement for Harris on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Harris was appointed in January 2009 to Cincinnati City Council to fill the unexpired term of John Cranley, who was facing term limits. But Harris lost in an election that November, finishing 10th in balloting for the nine-member group, missing the final spot by about 3,400 votes. During his brief term, Harris angered the city’s police and firefighter unions by suggesting changes that he said would improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Through his consulting firm, Harris had served as public policy advisor for Cincinnati-based KnowledgeWorks Foundation, a national education philanthropy that seeds educational practices and policy reforms.

An Illinois native, Harris moved to the region in 1993 to attend graduate school at Miami University in Oxford. He stayed here after graduation and served from 2000-05 as executive director of Citizens for Civic Renewal, a nonprofit public advocacy group that promotes good government, volunteerism and civic involvement.

Harris ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic challenger to U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) twice, in 2002 and 2004. He also was prepared to challenge Hartmann for the Hamilton County Commission seat in 2008 until Democratic Party leaders cut a deal with the GOP and asked Harris to step aside and let Hartmann run unopposed. A reluctant Harris complied.

Some people might call it the “Case of the Conveniently Disappearing Blog Item.”

In an instance of revising history to suit changing political circumstances that would make old Soviet-style bureaucrats proud, a conservative anti-tax group has deleted a nasty blog item attacking a local official now that the person has agreed to help a fundraiser for the group.

Many political observers wondered why Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper would agree to introduce Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory at last Wednesday's event and endorse Mallory’s re-election bid.

After all, although Pepper and Mallory are both Democrats, they were rivals in the 2005 non-partisan mayoral race and have starkly different approaches to policy-making. Nevertheless, there Pepper was on a podium at Union Terminal, stating that Mallory had helped unify City Council and improved Cincinnati’s image.